To wonder which fictional boarding school you'd like to have attended?

[Clothrabbit]

For me, Malory Towers. I still love those books and always enjoy reading about the outdoor pool, Gwendoline's misdemeanours, and Mamzelle's eccentricities.

I still have all my chalet school books ready for dd. She’s currently enjoying my st Clare’s so not too much longer to wait.

Super jealous! The ones I read were all at my primary school didn’t own them though even if I had not sure they would have survived my parents ruthless clear outs

MsTSwift - if you follow the link up-thread to Girls Gone By Publishersyou cab buy new editions of many of the books.

Tinuviel - glad to find another Masha fan. I have not managed to get hold of the sequel, The Youngest Lady in Waiting . Have you read it?

I still haven't posted my favourite because it is so hard to choose. I love the sea so Malory Towers would be nice but I have team sports and don't have a special talent like music, art, imitating people so not sure I'd fit in.

I like the idea of Hogwarts post-Voldemort and would be Ravenclaw. The college in His Dark Material mentioned above is supposedly based on my actual Oxford College so maybe I have sort of been there, a little bit...? Not sure I fancy a version of it run by dusty alpha males, though.

I also like the sound of Springdale in the later Dorita Fairlie Bruce books so perhaps I would plump for that one.

“Malory Towers - not based on Lulworth as previously suggested but Benenden.”

The school was Benenden, I really meant the building itself that Enid Blyton had in mind for her school. She loved Dorset and used its settings for many of her books - George and Kirrin Island are Dorset-based.

She wrote Malory Towers for her daughter Gillian when she started at Benendon. The school was evacuated during the war to a hotel in Newquay, Cornwall, which provided the Cornish sea setting.

Darrell was based on Gillian, who had an equally shocking temper when roused. Her sister, Imogen, also provided inspiration for some of the girls in the stories: Felicity, Bill and - more surprisingly - June.
Imogen herself was almost expelled in a similar fashion, not from Benendon but from her prep school, Godstone. Enid went to the school and persuaded them to recind their decision, just as Moira does in MT.
Imogen’s account of the reason is bizarre - climbing a tree, apparently. I wonder if the true story was used for a Malory Towers plot and that’s why Imogen appeared to resent her mother so much.

"Who would win in a face-off between Miss Cromwell, Miss Wilson and Professor MacGonagall? Assuming magic wasn't allowed?"

Definitely Miss Cromwell.The best and most realistic fictional teacher ever.

Miss Cromwell- no contest. Such a real person.

One of the things I love about the Kingscote books is the realness of the staff.
I love how nonplussed they are by The Latimers different approach to Crommies.

When in doubt - what would Miss Cromwell do?
Kempe is a favourite too - even if I profoundly disagree with much of her interpretation of The Tempest.

I also like the way we are made aware of likes and dislikes among the staff....

And the shattering admission to me aged 12 that a Head girl might actually not be very good at the job!

I agree with the OP re Trebizon. I found Rebecca quite dull and the books didn't really match up to Malory Towers for fun, Kingscote for realism, or the Chalet School for atmosphere and detail.

Trebizon.

Yes, Karen’s unsuitability for the post of head girl comes as a real
Shock after years of Blyton et al where the HG is eminently wise, kind and worthy of the post

Yes, that's one of the great things about Kingscote. The prefects are flawed human beings, not paragons of virtue. Likewise the teachers are shown to use poor judgement at times, Miss Keith the Headmistress is quite detached from most of the girls, and is sometimes unfair in her decisions, and the staff in general are not totally preoccupied with school affairs but have other things on their minds at times.

Just like a real school.

So happy to find so many fellow Kingscote devotees! I love the books so much, I’ve read them countless times and still do, now I’m in my mid-forties. I wish she’d written more. I’ve read some of the other books based on the family but I think the school books are by far the best.

So happy to find so many fellow Kingscote devotees!

I always like it when I spot a Forest-inspired username on MN. Nice to see several on this thread!

Me too Valenta. There’s a MirandaWest and I think there’s a LawrieisluckybutNickyisnicer too

If this NC has worked, I will keep it for use on threads like this!

My username is Forest inspired and I recently spotted PatrickMerricksGoshawk on another thread.

The original Chalet School in Austria, or Whyteleafe School from the Naughtiest Girl books.

I recognised you from Peter's Room, Tarquin, which is one of my favourites. I've seen a Miss Cromwell based name recently, but I can't remember what it was.

I’m having my annual AF reread. Just starting on Falconer’s Lure where we meet the lovely PM for the first time.
Love the screaming Val name.

Can anyone remember a boarding school book, probably 1920’s but not Angela Brazil. I think the school was called Grey Towers or Grey Friars. The main character was called Barbara and she was a bit unconventional. And she was friends with a girl called Judith, and when they were worried about something they drew a giant called Holofernes on paper and cut it up to make the problem go away. Have been racking my brains, I remember reading from my granny’s bookcase. Any clues ?!

Mallory towers here too. I'd have needed a scholarship or something though.

We had an outdoor pool, it was freezing!!